Huge Elephant Puts Its Massive Strength On Display and Knocks Over a Tree to Eat the Highest Leaves

Elephants don’t hunt for their food, but they sure do work for it sometimes. Watch the video at the bottom of the page to see how a massive elephant puts its strength on display to gain access to one of its favorite food sources: leaves!

How Strong Are Elephants?

Unsurprisingly, elephants are incredibly strong animals. Their trunks alone can grip and lift heavy objects like logs. They can also pull and push powerfully, aiding humans with moving large objects like timber. They have tusks they can use as well. Males can weigh up to 13,000 pounds and their brute strength means they can knock over large objects, including entire trees! Even though they’re so massive, they also display impressive endurance, which only adds to their overall strength.

What Do Elephants Eat?

Elephants have a varied diet. They are herbivores that primarily gravitate to plant materials. They snack on grasses and leaves and use their trunks to reach leaves high up on tree branches. They also eat tree bark, employing the use of their tusks to scrape it off for snacking. Additionally, elephants eat fruits; however, this depends on where they’re located. Some fruits they eat include bananas and apples. Just as they use their trunks to reach leaves high up in a tree, they also focus their attention downward and dig to expose roots in the ground.

Elephant Puts Massive Strength on Display

When the video below starts, an elephant at the Negarhole National Park in India is front and center. It has already spotted some leaves on a tree and it’s eagerly using its trunk to grab hold of them. It places its large tusks on either side of the tree and starts pushing forward. Immediately, you hear the creaking of the tree trunk as it starts buckling under the immense pressure. The elephant intelligently uses momentum, rocking back on forth against the trunk to topple it.

The trunk of the tree pops and the people behind the camera gasp in surprise. The elephant keeps going, rocking back and forth as it makes progress. It’s working hard for its meal! Finally, the tree is at an angle that tells the elephant it’s succeeding in its mission. The elephant pauses and checks out the tree, appreciating its process. Eventually, the tree is low enough that the elephant places a foot on it and starts pushing it down further. It pauses again to look at its work and notices the leaves are at a grabbing distance. So, it feasts!

Watch the Impressive Video Below!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Dennis W Donohue/Shutterstock.com